There are many practical and legal reasons to learn lock picking, (we covered this last week in our guide on how to use your dark side for good) but the picks can be expensive and hard to obtain. You can make your own set with the spring steel from a wiper blade, a small propane torch, and a rotary (Dremel) tool or grinder, and two pliers.

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Tactical gear blog ITS Tactical offers this method of making a pick and a tension wrench.

Lock Pick(s):

Cut the material to a comfortable length for your hand.

Use the grinder or rotary tool to grind the blade into a basic pick blank shape, making sure to dip the metal in a cup of cold water every so often to avoid overheating the metal. (this will make your pick too brittle)

Once you have the pick blank you can shape it into the specific pick needed for your application. When you're finished, sand the rough edges down to a smooth finish so your picks can glide over pins in a lock.

Tension Wrench:

Light the propane torch, grip a length of steel with one pair of pliers, and when the metal is cherry red in color bend it 90 degrees with a second pair of pliers.